The Power of the Vanity URL

The Power of the Vanity URL

posted by Nora Revie
on Mon, 07/29/2013 - 4:46pm

For many credit unions, converting current members to Facebook fans can be a bit of a challenge. Some of them might not even realize that their credit unions have gone social. One of the main hurdles is making your page easy to find.

How do you do this? The first (and easiest) step is to change that vanity URL or as Facebook refers to it, a username. This is how people get to your Facebook page. If you don’t set it, your credit union’s page is assigned a random URL like this:

That is neither easy to remember or share. For maximum exposure, a Facebook URL should be short and sweet—at the very least it should be memorable (see example below). You can include vanity URLs in signs at the teller booths, as window clings, on newsletters or in email correspondence.

Keep in mind that you want your username to be consistent with your credit union’s image. Sadly, there is a minimum character limit of five letters, so using the acronym for some credit unions is not an option. Spend a little time thinking about this, as you can only change your username once.

To change this URL, go to your credit union’s Facebook page. You should be logged from your Facebook admin account NOT as your credit union.

From the top of the page, click Edit Page.

From the dropdown menu, select Update Public Info.

Click the Page Address and then click Create a web address for this page?

Enter the new username and click Check Availability.

If it’s available, click Confirm to save it.

Social buttons are included at the top right for maximum visibility.

Congratulations! You're the proud owner of a new Facebook username.

There’s another simple way to drive organic fans to your Facebook page—add social buttons to your credit union’s website. Social buttons are on pretty much every website First decide on whether you want it to be straightforward buttons at the top of the page or a more elaborate badge. There are standard badges out there, but you can always customize an image and add it to your website.

After you nail that down, ask whoever your maintains your website to update the homepage. Be sure to send specific examples of what you want to see on the homepage, dimensions and any text. Also indicate that you want the buttons near the top of the page, preferably at the right. This is where people expect to find homepage social buttons.

As always, please feel free to contact Nora Holloway with any Facebook or Twitter questions. You can reach her via email or at 314.542.1349.